During this visit, you should work with one or more groups of students if you haven't already, and observe your teacher doing the same. For this journal entry, describe your teacher's teaching style. What type of relationships with students does he or she nurture in his or her classes? How do students perceive that power is distributed in the classes? Does this vary within or across the different classes the teacher has? Cite examples from your observations to support your inferences. Remember to reflect on what style of teaching you will gravitate toward and the how you want to be perceived by your students.
During this visit I was able to observe an inclusion class as well as a self-contained class. Both classes were doing the same work so I was able to observe the differences in my CT's teaching between the 2. For this class we were working on the metric system and conversions. My CT uses a "metric zoo" lined up in a row to help the students with their conversions. I think this was a great way to do it because it gave the students a visual model for them to see how to move the decimal and I like also that the larger the unit the larger the animal is.
Kilo-
Phant
Hector
Horse
Deka-
Dolphin
Meter/
Liter/
Gram Man
Deci-
Dog
Centi-
Cat
Milli-
Mouse
As they were working and the conversion sheet we were both walking around making sure they were doing it correctly and answering any questions along the way. We both have a similar teaching style in that she is kind and friendly but also exudes an air of authority, so I guess I'm trying to say she comes off very approachable but has a confidence that lets the students know when its ok to have a good time and when its time to settle down and work. I would say that the students perceive the power distribution in the classroom to be that the teacher has the final say in terms of what goes on but they also feel like they have a voice, which I feel is a very important element in regards to engaging students.
Now in the self-contained classroom, there are 9 students, my CT and 2 special educators present. This set up in and of it's self is fantastic because these students need more of that one on one kind of attention that they would never be able to get in an inclusion classroom. Now the lesson was relatively the same, in that it covered the same material, she used the same power-point presentation but provided an easier note guide and there was no students participation, in terms of coming up to the smart board to write answers, and the material was described it pretty much the same way. However, the structure or feel of the class was different. A lot of the students have attention or sensory issues so she cannot allow them to get overly stimulated because then getting them back on task would be near impossible. So the playful banter wasn't present, the energy level of the class was kept at a minimum but not so strict as to make it seem cold. More like she and the other teachers could sense when things were just about ready to "explode" and would reel everyone back in berfore it happened. I would compare it almost to an acrobatic show, where everyone knows where everyone else is and the timing is perfect because if it wasn't the whole act would come crashing down.
My CT has a lot of the qualities I hope to develop and fine tune to fit my personality. I want my students to perceive me as someone they can come to for help and not just in science but in other aspects of their lives. I also want them to see me as not so much as the "leader" of the class but more like the "guide" of the class where we can learn and have fun but there is a limit and when its time to get down to buisness they understand I mean it. There is a very fine line in how I want my students to perceive me and I think I can learn a lot from my CT in how to pull it off. I think I have a tendency to come off at first as more of their friend, which hurts me later on when I try to enforce the rules, not always, but enough that I notice it. My challenge is going to be not to cross that line because when you do being able to cross back over will be difficult to say the least.
Like going to the dark side! LOL
During this visit I was able to observe an inclusion class as well as a self-contained class. Both classes were doing the same work so I was able to observe the differences in my CT's teaching between the 2. For this class we were working on the metric system and conversions. My CT uses a "metric zoo" lined up in a row to help the students with their conversions. I think this was a great way to do it because it gave the students a visual model for them to see how to move the decimal and I like also that the larger the unit the larger the animal is.
Phant
Horse
Dolphin
Liter/
Gram Man
Dog
Cat
Mouse
As they were working and the conversion sheet we were both walking around making sure they were doing it correctly and answering any questions along the way. We both have a similar teaching style in that she is kind and friendly but also exudes an air of authority, so I guess I'm trying to say she comes off very approachable but has a confidence that lets the students know when its ok to have a good time and when its time to settle down and work. I would say that the students perceive the power distribution in the classroom to be that the teacher has the final say in terms of what goes on but they also feel like they have a voice, which I feel is a very important element in regards to engaging students.
Now in the self-contained classroom, there are 9 students, my CT and 2 special educators present. This set up in and of it's self is fantastic because these students need more of that one on one kind of attention that they would never be able to get in an inclusion classroom. Now the lesson was relatively the same, in that it covered the same material, she used the same power-point presentation but provided an easier note guide and there was no students participation, in terms of coming up to the smart board to write answers, and the material was described it pretty much the same way. However, the structure or feel of the class was different. A lot of the students have attention or sensory issues so she cannot allow them to get overly stimulated because then getting them back on task would be near impossible. So the playful banter wasn't present, the energy level of the class was kept at a minimum but not so strict as to make it seem cold. More like she and the other teachers could sense when things were just about ready to "explode" and would reel everyone back in berfore it happened. I would compare it almost to an acrobatic show, where everyone knows where everyone else is and the timing is perfect because if it wasn't the whole act would come crashing down.
My CT has a lot of the qualities I hope to develop and fine tune to fit my personality. I want my students to perceive me as someone they can come to for help and not just in science but in other aspects of their lives. I also want them to see me as not so much as the "leader" of the class but more like the "guide" of the class where we can learn and have fun but there is a limit and when its time to get down to buisness they understand I mean it. There is a very fine line in how I want my students to perceive me and I think I can learn a lot from my CT in how to pull it off. I think I have a tendency to come off at first as more of their friend, which hurts me later on when I try to enforce the rules, not always, but enough that I notice it. My challenge is going to be not to cross that line because when you do being able to cross back over will be difficult to say the least.
Like going to the dark side! LOL